The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting a context of this disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Vehicles include instrument panels to communicate information indicative of operation to an operator. Motor vehicles include instrument panels with several gauges and dials that communicate vehicle conditions such as speed, engine rpm, temperature, and oil pressure along with many other operational parameters. A gauge surface can be illuminated to provide a desired aesthetic appearance. Planar light guides and/or LEDs are typically utilized for propagating light to desired locations, however, light is not always evenly distributed.
One set of LEDs, including perhaps 2-4 LEDs may be used to illuminate graphics contained on an appliqué. Another set of LEDs, such as 4-6 LEDs may be distributed in a circular pattern about the appliqué in order to illuminate a set of tick marks disposed in a circular pattern the appliqué.
There is a desire, however, for fewer components in instrument cluster lighting assemblies, but without decreasing the aesthetics and even distribution of light about the appliqué.